On Wrestling In Prayer
Prayer A.W. Tozer • Sermon • Submitted
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Transcript
There is a belief that wrestling in prayer is always a good thing.
It isn’t.
There are times we continue in prayer so that we can just get our way.
The origin of the prayer must be examined in order to determine whether it is good or not.
If the prayer is coming and aided by the Holy Spirit, then yes it is a good thing.
If this is the case, it can be a very beautiful thing and an opportunity for growth in the Spirit.
If not, and the prayer has originated from our own heart, then we need to stop praying for our desire.
If this is the case, then the act can be as carnal as any other sin we commit.
Two Examples
Jacob
He begins the by wrestling with this “man” and tried to do it with his own strength.
After being beaten up, he refused to let go until the “man” blessed him.
It is after all this that he realizes this match was of divine origin.
And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.
Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”
In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
and in his manhood he strove with God.
He strove with the angel and prevailed;
he wept and sought his favor.
He met God at Bethel,
and there God spoke with us—
This verse shows us how Jacob was a wrestler even in the womb.
His entire life, he wrestled for the blessings of God through deceitful practices.
If we look at Genesis 32:9-23 and the way Jacob tries to work through all the things he had done to his brother, and how he wrestles with himself, we can see ourselves in this section of scripture when we try to work on things and do it of our own volition instead of allowing God to work His will for our lives.
He finally prays to God when he realizes all of his scheming has failed. He realizes how God has been faithful to him through all his life even when he failed God.
It was after the blessing that Jacob was renamed Israel.
Jacob means the supplanter.
Israel means one who strives with God.
God had this worked out all along.
Who was the one who initiated the wrestling match?
Jacob was determined to try and work all this out on his own. It was when he was alone with his fears and all that God sent an angel to wrestle with him and get Jacob where he needed him to be.
Prophets of Baal
They also wrestle, but it doesn’t turn out as well
The match was much more violent.
If you take a look at all they did “in prayer” and take a look at what happened to them, you can see the mistake they made.
They we were wrong in spite of their earnest praying.
This error didn’t die with this group.
Only the Spirit can pray effectively.
We need to be dependent on Him to help us with our prayers.
He is our true help, and we need to examine our prayers as we go to God with them and follow the direction of the Holy Spirit as we pray.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
We all wrestle with God in prayer in our determined hearts trying to get our way.
We will say, “let your will be done,” but do we really mean that.
If we are truly praying for God’s will in our lives, He will allow us to go through situations where we are hemmed in on all sides. He will provide us with an escape that can only be explained by it being God’s doing.
When this happens, it is a beautiful thing. God is glorified through these circumstances in our lives. When we listen to His will and His answers to our prayers, there can be no better are greater result.
Similar images are used in Col. 4:12-13.
Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis.
The Greek word for laboring earnestly was also used for athletes as they were training for competition.
Paul’s expression here is that there are few who truly pray this way. As a result revival doesn’t come to the church. We need to fully examine the things we pray for and balance them against our desires and what the Holy Spirit has in mind. When we begin to pray and bring our thoughts in line with that of God, that is when things are going to get exciting in your personal life. When we as a church do the same thing, look out. There is no power that can stand against us. What an exciting time that would be?
We need to get ourselves out of the way and allow the Holy Spirit to do His work through us as we begin to allow Him to help us to pray and earnestly seek God’s will for our lives and for His church he has brought us to be a part of.